Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance
Foodborne illness is a major source of the global burden of disease, but public monitoring of hazards in food systems is overwhelmingly focused on the formal sector in high income countries. We contribute to the development of an evidence base on food safety risk in low-income and informal settings...
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Public Library of Science
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177968 |
| _version_ | 1855540051217219584 |
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| author | Hoffmann, Vivian Ndisio, Boaz Barasa, Allan Okoth, Sheila Murphy, Mike |
| author2 | Hlangwani,, Edwin |
| author_browse | Barasa, Allan Hlangwani,, Edwin Hoffmann, Vivian Murphy, Mike Ndisio, Boaz Okoth, Sheila |
| author_facet | Hlangwani,, Edwin Hoffmann, Vivian Ndisio, Boaz Barasa, Allan Okoth, Sheila Murphy, Mike |
| author_sort | Hoffmann, Vivian |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Foodborne illness is a major source of the global burden of disease, but public monitoring of hazards in food systems is overwhelmingly focused on the formal sector in high income countries. We contribute to the development of an evidence base on food safety risk in low-income and informal settings by monitoring aflatoxin prevalence in maize flour in Kenya. Aflatoxin is a contaminant which causes liver cancer and has been linked to childhood stunting. We carry out systematic monitoring of formally and informally processed maize flour from a range of retail vendors across ten urban sites in Kenya and analyze aflatoxin levels in commercial samples. Samples were obtained every two months from February-December 2021 and 1255 samples in total were analyzed. Almost all samples (97%) showed detectable levels of aflatoxin, with 16% of tested samples exceeding the national regulatory limit of 10 ppb. Mean contamination levels are significantly higher (p < 0.001) in informal market samples (9.9 ppb) than in packaged flour in the formal sector (4.9 ppb). We find important seasonal variation in aflatoxin levels, which are highest in our June sample and lowest in December, which we attribute to variation in sourcing of maize grain. Our results demonstrate the need for policy interventions to reduce aflatoxin exposure in Kenya and demonstrate the utility of coordinated monitoring efforts to track levels of food safety risk in low-income settings. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace177968 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| publisherStr | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1779682025-12-15T20:19:04Z Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance Hoffmann, Vivian Ndisio, Boaz Barasa, Allan Okoth, Sheila Murphy, Mike Hlangwani,, Edwin aflatoxins maize flour surveillance systems foodborne diseases food contamination Foodborne illness is a major source of the global burden of disease, but public monitoring of hazards in food systems is overwhelmingly focused on the formal sector in high income countries. We contribute to the development of an evidence base on food safety risk in low-income and informal settings by monitoring aflatoxin prevalence in maize flour in Kenya. Aflatoxin is a contaminant which causes liver cancer and has been linked to childhood stunting. We carry out systematic monitoring of formally and informally processed maize flour from a range of retail vendors across ten urban sites in Kenya and analyze aflatoxin levels in commercial samples. Samples were obtained every two months from February-December 2021 and 1255 samples in total were analyzed. Almost all samples (97%) showed detectable levels of aflatoxin, with 16% of tested samples exceeding the national regulatory limit of 10 ppb. Mean contamination levels are significantly higher (p < 0.001) in informal market samples (9.9 ppb) than in packaged flour in the formal sector (4.9 ppb). We find important seasonal variation in aflatoxin levels, which are highest in our June sample and lowest in December, which we attribute to variation in sourcing of maize grain. Our results demonstrate the need for policy interventions to reduce aflatoxin exposure in Kenya and demonstrate the utility of coordinated monitoring efforts to track levels of food safety risk in low-income settings. 2025-11 2025-11-17T17:17:21Z 2025-11-17T17:17:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177968 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136638 Open Access Public Library of Science Hoffmann, Vivian; Ndisio, Boaz; Barasa, Allan; Okoth, Sheila; and Murphy, Mike. 2025. Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance. PLoS One 20(11): e0336687. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336687 |
| spellingShingle | aflatoxins maize flour surveillance systems foodborne diseases food contamination Hoffmann, Vivian Ndisio, Boaz Barasa, Allan Okoth, Sheila Murphy, Mike Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title | Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title_full | Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title_fullStr | Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title_short | Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance |
| title_sort | aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in kenya results from multi city multi round surveillance |
| topic | aflatoxins maize flour surveillance systems foodborne diseases food contamination |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177968 |
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